Paralympic Gameshttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/taxonomy/term/9327/all
enOutrage as Rio 2016 paralympic organisers 'slander' tribal peoplehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/23409
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<p>In an official press release, the organisers of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have accused Brazilian tribal peoples of infanticide, sexual abuse, rape, slavery, torture and other “harmful traditional practices”, prompting outrage among human rights campaigners.</p>
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<p>In an official press release, the organisers of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games have accused Brazilian tribal peoples of infanticide, sexual abuse, rape, slavery, torture and other “harmful traditional practices”, prompting outrage among human rights campaigners.</p>
<p>The organisers have also backed 'Muwaji’s Law', a proposed law in Brazil being promoted by evangelical missionaries as a means of breaking up tribal families.</p>
<p>Citing the case of Iganani Suruwaha, an indigenous girl with cerebral palsy whose mother fled her community for an evangelical mission, the press release states that: “In August 2015 the Deputies Chamber approved ‘Muwaji’s Law,’ which seeks to combat harmful traditional practices at indigenous communities – such as infanticide or homicide, sexual abuse, individual or collective rape, slavery, torture, abandonment of people in need and domestic violence.”</p>
<p>Survival International, the global movement for tribal peoples' rights, says Muwaji’s Law enables the authorities to take tribal children away from their families and requires all members of a community to tell the authorities about any pregnant woman in a “situation of risk.” The law applies to everyone, including expectant fathers and other family members. All those who fail to report the pregnancy, whether real or merely suspected, commit a crime for which they can be prosecuted.</p>
<p>The mother and father are apparently to have few rights in this process. The proposed law does not allow them to challenge in court the potential decision to offer their child for adoption, once it has been taken away from them. It gives them no right to be told where their child has been taken, to be provided with any other information about it, or even to maintain any relationship with the child.</p>
<p>At a conference on the issue arranged by UNICEF in 2009, a Brazilian Indian said: “The draft law is racist because it does not consider or even mention that non-Indians kill their children much more. If the white people commit this crime more frequently than the Indians, why is a law just against Indians being pushed forward? The white people kill us and they are not detained. We face a racist law: our assassins are not incriminated by a specific law, but we are.”</p>
<p>Exaggerated reports of infanticide and other practices have long been used to undermine tribal peoples’ rights, even though they occur at least as frequently in industrial societies, says Survival.</p>
<p>Survival’s Director Stephen Corry said: “The Rio 2016 organisers have made Indians out to be cruel and inhuman monsters, in the spirit of 19th century colonialist scorn for ‘brutal savages.’ In reality, tribal peoples are portrayed like this simply because their communal ways are different. Of course, some tribal individuals are sometimes guilty of acts of horrific brutality, but this is, of course, no more the case than as for non-tribal individuals. Muwaji’s law represents a concerted attempt by fundamentalist missionaries to slander Indians as child-murderers, thereby making it easier to steal their children."</p>
<p>* Survival International <a href="http://www.survivalinternational.org/" title="http://www.survivalinternational.org/">http://www.survivalinternational.org/</a></p>
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EqualityPeople and PowerNews Briefbrazilchildrenhuman rightsParalympic GamesSurvival Internationaltribal peopleWorld NewsThu, 08 Sep 2016 07:51:47 +0000agency reporter23409 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukThe brave new world of paralympian defiancehttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17000
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<h1 class="title">The brave new world of paralympian defiance</h1>
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<p><a href="http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17000" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Living EconomyPeople and PowerNews BriefAtosdisabilitydlaolympics 2012Paralympic GamespoliticiansBlogThu, 30 Aug 2012 21:02:46 +0000Jill Segger17000 at http://www.ekklesia.co.ukAtos bring 'bad news to the poor' says Christian networkhttp://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/16998
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<p>Christian campaigners have backed direct action against Atos, a company accused of wrongly declaring thousands of disabled people to be fit for work.</p>
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<p>Christian campaigners have backed nonviolent direct action against Atos, a company accused of wrongly declaring thousands of disabled people to be fit for work to meet government goals of slashing the welfare bill. </p>
<p>Atos is facing a string of protests this week, triggered in part by the company's sponsorship of the Paralympic Games. The sponsorship has been slammed as cynical and hypocritical by Atos' critics. </p>
<p>Supporters of Christianity Uncut are backing the protests against Atos, including an attempt to close the company's London offices tomorrow (Friday 31 August). The action has been organised by Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and UK Uncut, who have dubbed it “the Closing Atos Ceremony”.</p>
<p>“Jesus said he had come to bring good news to the poor. Atos bring bad news to the poor.” declared Christianity Uncut today (30 August).</p>
<p>The company has £3.1 billion of government contracts. Over 40 per cent of appeals against Atos decisions are upheld, suggesting the company is either incompetent or deliberately conducting biased assessments. However, legal aid for most appeals will be scrapped from April. </p>
<p>At least 43 doctors and nurses working for Atos have been reported to professional regulators for misconduct, according to evidence published by the <em>Independent</em> newspaper yesterday (29 August). There are countless stories of people being forced to miss meals or turn off heating after having their benefits cut.</p>
<p>Sian, a disabled Catholic who was assessed by Atos, said that the cross over her bed was noticed by the Atos doctor who asked if she went to church. </p>
<p>“She said she was asking this because I should have freedom of religion and be able to go to church,” explained Sian. “She lied. She wrote 'claims cannot leave house even to church'. She was checking to see if I was'really' disabled. I had my Disability Living Allowance stopped.”</p>
<p>Christianity Uncut urged churches to take sides with the poorest members of society “who are losing out most from cuts while the very rich remain largely unaffected”. They accused David Cameron of snatching away the livelihood of thousands of disabled people at the same time as welcoming the Paralympics to London. </p>
<p>Symon Hill, a Christian writer and associate director of the Ekklesia thinktank, said he would be at the protest at the Atos offices in London tomorrow. </p>
<p>He added, “Ministers could save billions by cracking down on corporate tax-dodging and ditching Trident, instead of attacking the poorest members of society. Many Christians recognise that there can be no neutrality in the face of injustice. Now is the time to act on that conviction.”</p>
<p>Christianity Uncut is an informal network of Christians campaigning against the UK government's cuts agenda and what they regard as the injustices of capitalism. They say they are inspired by Jesus and his nonviolent direct action in the Jerusalem Temple in solidarity with people who are poor, exploited and marginalised. </p>
<p>Earlier this year, members of Christianity Uncut were dragged from the steps of St Paul's Cathedral as they knelt in prayer during the eviction of Occupy London Stock Exchange. </p>
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Beliefs and ValuesLiving EconomyNews BriefAtosbenefitschristianity uncutdisabilitydpacnonviolent direct actionParalympic GamesUK NewsUK uncutThu, 30 Aug 2012 10:55:53 +0000staff writers16998 at http://www.ekklesia.co.uk